Smartwatch: simple smartphone extensions or real devices that can work alone? Let’s find out together the features and functions of the most performing models in the technological market.
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Guide to choosing the best Smartwatches
Smartwatches from $100 or $300? We have selected many models for you (you will find all the reviews at the end), among which, surely, you will be able to find the perfect one to best your needs.
Smartwatch for all pockets and for all wrists! How many? Better not ask yourself this question. Smartwatches, as well as all the other technological solutions to monitor your workouts (fitness tracker, fitness band), are really many and choosing is not easy at all.
Are you looking for a smartwatch for training? No problem. Do you want a smartwatch for urban use? There is certainly no shortage.
Do you want a hybrid? There are also many smartwatches with functions for those who train constantly, but, which are also equipped with several other smart functions for daily use outside the world of fitness.
Did you know that with smartwatches, you can also pay contactless, buy tickets to take advantage of the urban transport service, and read the notifications that arrive on your smartphone at any time? So, don’t wait and wear technology in style!
What are smartwatches, and how do they work?
Hi-tech watches! A definition reduced to the bone, but certainly correct. To better understand what we are talking about, it is good to broaden the discussion a bit, starting from the identification of these increasingly popular accessories.
Smartwatches can be defined as devices that allow you to load applications and take advantage of their services (there are many models that also work independently, without connection to the smartphone) and that, in many cases, also integrate a voice assistant.
Devices of the future, or rather of a technological present, which are shifting the control and accessibility of the apps that are normally used on the smartphone (which can remain in your pocket) on your wrist.
In short, a technology that is worn and that guarantees easier use, direct interaction, and within reach … oops, sorry, on the wrist.
The many and increasingly advanced functions of these special watches are dictating the selection criteria.
How to choose a smartwatch? Simple, pretend you have to choose a smartphone. What has been said also means that if you are a follower of the bitten apple, you certainly cannot direct the choice towards Android models, but you will necessarily have to point to the Watch produced by Apple?
” An apple never falls far from the tree, ” so if you like the iPhone, you can’t help but want to wear a miniature one on the wrist.
The same goes for Androidians who, unlike Appleians, can choose in a decidedly more crowded market, with solutions designed for everyone.
Smartwatch features: that’s why choose one now!
Let’s clarify one thing: the models that we have carefully selected for you are ” hybrids, ” that is, they are not only simple (simple as it were) Sportwatch, but they contain within them a set of technological goodies that allow their use in 360°. Exactly, as mentioned before, fitness and urban use.
Let’s go back for a moment to what we were saying in the previous paragraph: what is a smartwatch? To answer this question, in a slightly more technical way, it is possible to bring up the main features of these special watches:
- Devices always connected with the smartphone, but which are also being perfected for use with eSim.
- More and more precise and reliable sensors of the latest generation to process reports, in real-time, complete in all. The connection allows you to save any data, to always have the situation under control and consult parameters and notifications at all times.
- Designs designed to surprise, as in the case of bracelet smartwatches with mini displays, or more ” traditional ” that recall the lines of normal watches. For all tastes and all styles.
- Comfortable and resistant materials: smartwatches are designed to ensure maximum comfort and never to be removed. Shock and water are not problems for almost all models.
- Oled technology for extraordinary touch screen displays. It has been said before: they are smartphones to be closed on the wrist.
- Increasingly powerful battery. The long duration and the speed of charge are essential to obtain a product useful for daily use and to do many different things. The businessman cannot stay dry and not receive important notifications for business meetings, just as the runner cannot run out of battery in the middle of training and give up data monitoring.
These are the main features, but we will go into more detail to better evaluate each device.
Smartwatch functions: what can they do?
What can be done with a smartwatch?
Increasingly complex functions in increasingly smaller devices to wear. This is technological progress!
From the first bracelets that measured only a few parameters related to movement to increasingly smart devices capable of detecting everything, really everything. Accelerometers and gyroscopes, cardio sensors, a possibility to change the dial according to your needs, applications for payments, and to do the things you normally do with your smartphone.
This does not mean that the price of modern smartwatches is necessarily very high because even with a few tens of dollars you can buy truly extraordinary products. Obviously, there is no shortage of the ” top of the range, ” but … that’s another thing. Let’s find out what they can do.
Heart rate
All smartwatches have a sophisticated heart rate sensor. A useful tool to monitor your heart rate more and more accurately.
Specifically, it is a sensor (PPG – photoplethysmography sensor) that not only detects the number of beats but a real diagnostic tool that, thanks to advanced algorithms, can measure changes over time and analyze performance sports, the general level of stress and also the quality of sleep.
Lots of data collected for always reliable measurements. The sensors mounted on models produced by different companies generally use the same measurement principle.
The data collected are very useful, but for even more precise measurements, it will be necessary to connect a fitness band (which uses ECG technology).
VO2max and SpO2
Parameters to always keep under control to improve your physical condition. How to do? With a smartwatch. This is another very important function of smartwatches, useful for those who play sports. Let’s clarify:
VO2max: is the parameter that indicates the maximum volume of oxygen that the muscles are able to take from the muscles? It is nothing, but the amount of oxygen consumed per minute (calculated in milliliters per kilogram of weight).
Why is it useful to monitor this parameter? Describes cardiorespiratory and aerobic capacity, which can be improved with physical activity. The algorithms used by smartwatches are very useful for everyone, but especially for those who practice trekking, running, cycling, and any other endurance sport.
Knowing this parameter allows not only to monitor and improve training to bring sports performances to a higher level but also to make important lifestyle decisions.
SpO2: is the parameter that indicates the level of peripheral oxygenation. Knowing this data is important to be able to isolate night apneas and to assess the physical condition before undertaking a certain motor activity.
Accelerometer and gyroscope
Present in all smartwatches. What are they and what are they for? They are particular sensors that detect the force to which a body is subjected to physical activity. They are useful for counting the number of steps, how much movement has been made throughout the day, rest intervals, and monitoring the hours of sleep.
These sensors, which we have described in a broadway when combined with the specific one for measuring heart rate and exploiting multiple measurement metrics, are able to provide very important data to evaluate sports performance more precisely. So, no more random training, but only well-designed sessions to improve and prepare like the real champions.
GPS, altimeter, barometer, and compass for complete smartwatches
The most interesting models are also equipped with auxiliary hardware that completes the picture of the sensors and functions. Here is what they are used for and why they are important:
- The GPS sensor allows you to record the coordinates of the position, at any time and for any movement, while simultaneously using the navigation map (Google Maps or Apple Maps).
- The ABC sensors (altimeter, barometer, and compass) complete the picture by collecting the data taking the ” magnetic north ” as a reference point. These are functions that are not of interest to the ” slipper ” on duty but are very useful for those who still want to precisely control his movements and variations during a workout (for example, excellent for those who practice mountaineering and trekking, but also for professional runners ). That’s all? No, because even the couch potato, those few times he decides to get up from the sofa at home (just what took the shape of his big ass … he jokes a bit) can use all these data to orient himself, just like Pollicino, in places unknown to him.
Smartwatch applications and widgets
To implement the functions of smartwatches, it is possible to download, just as you do on your smartphone, many useful apps to adapt their use to your needs and to search for better and more complete interaction with other mobile devices (precisely, with a smartphone).
Applications not provided by the manufacturer, but compatible with the model chosen, can be downloaded directly from the App Store or from the Play Store.
What about widgets? First, we try to identify them: widgets can be defined as graphic components (after all, they are small apps), designed to facilitate the user the use of functions already present on the smartwatch, helping him in interacting with the specific program.
Here the most recommended smartwatch models, thanks to integrated eSim or connections with the smartphone, can facilitate the management of notifications or calls with ease brought to the highest levels. Leave your smartphone at home during training? Of course, so much think about the whole smartwatch.
The most interesting apps and functions of the new models include the possibility of making electronic payments in contactless mode. Not all smartwatches are the same, and not all of them use the same communication protocol and specific authorizations with banking institutions.
So, before choosing, it is recommended to make sure that the card that is normally used for expenses (the one to be used to buy one of the smartwatches that you find described below) is supported by the payment program implemented by the manufacturer of the technological clock.
Among the most important contactless payment systems in the sector, it is possible to mention Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay, which all work in the same way.
How to choose a smartwatch?
Up to now, information has been given, in general, on what are the main functions (first thing to evaluate) that can be exploited using a latest-generation smartwatch. Various information that already allows you to orient yourself better in such a crowded market, but which must also be accompanied by other specifications, less technical, useful to be sure; you have made the right purchase. Here are the other features to analyze before choosing a smartwatch:
Operating system
The operating systems of smartwatches are not all the same, and it is important to check their compatibility with the smartphone you have. The main operating systems are:
- Wear OS: New Android version that replaces Android Wear. it is compatible with all Android smartphones from version 4.4 onwards (if you have a smartphone with an older version … change it!). Can it work with Apple devices? Yes, but in a very limited way.
- WatchOS: this is the operating system from Apple, compatible only with iPhone models from 5 onwards.
- Tizen OS: Samsung operating system, made for a 360° use of all the devices in the house, but also perfectly compatible with all other devices with Android 4.4 (and later).
Display
Technological yes, but smartwatches must also be comfortable to use and beautiful to look at. They are real watches, to be worn always and not only with sporty looks. Here the display is an important element for a successful choice.
The display can vary in shape, circular or square (the design of the models with a rectangular display is also very nice): smartwatches with a circular display have something more in terms of style, but the models with a square display are more comfortable to use.
Which one to choose? It’s all a matter of taste and … of style. Apart from the shape, the displays can be:
- OLED/AMOLED: they ensure a perfect contrast of colors to better display the icons, but they have some small deficiencies in direct sunlight.
- LCD: offer better visibility (even if the difference is of little importance) in all lighting conditions.
Always on or not? There are many smartwatches with the function Always-on of the display (always on) that exploit an operation always based on reduced consumption. The permanently lit display makes them similar to traditional watches, but if you don’t like this function, you can always opt for models with normal ” tap ” function for switching on.
Battery autonomy
Always with you, they can only be devices designed to ensure maximum performance for a long time. The battery life of the latest generation smartwatches is extraordinary (continuous use). Not bad that of the models we have chosen, since, we are talking about always-connected devices. Choose only models that guarantee a long calculated life with massive use of processor power ( great speed in opening apps and in data processing) and taking advantage of multiple functions simultaneously.
Strap
Before buying, it is a smart thing to check the quality of the smartwatch strap material, the measurements, and the type of models for the spare part. Having the possibility to choose among many models, for sports, casual or more elegant use, always counting on a high level of comfort, is important.
What is the difference between Smartwatch and Smartband?
The price! The first substantial difference that can be seen is the price. A smartband can be purchased at a much lower price than a high-performance smartwatch. A difference in dollars, which also translates into a difference in functions.
Although smartbands have characteristics similar to the cheaper Sportwatch models, they cannot compete with the quality (materials and design) and performance (complete in all respects) of the most powerful smartwatches. In short, smartbands are beautiful, smart bracelets that occupy the lowest places in the ranking of the best wearable technological devices, recommended only for ” unprofessional ” use.